Volunteers are ready to help transport home health aides in storm

With Wednesday’s weather stranding some motorists, Northeast Pennsylvania Search And Rescue volunteers were on standby to take any home health care professionals who needed rides to clients’ homes.

Several agencies in Monroe County, such as the Area Agency on Aging, Beck N Call, BrightStar and Meals on Wheels, provide home health care or food to dependent and shut-in residents.

“We’ve advised the (Monroe County Office of Emergency Services), the Area Agency on Aging and one home health care company, whose owner I know, that we’re available to provide any needed transportation,” said Chief Bruce Barton of NESAR. “We have four members with four-by-fours on standby until 8 a.m. Thursday.

“We helped out Meals on Wheels during major storms years ago, but they now plan ahead to cover their clients for a few days. We’ve also done this in the past for Pocono Medical Center, which now has two SUVs of their own to transport their people.”

NESAR offers transportation for home health care providers serving primarily clients who need urgent care every day, as opposed to those who need a lower level of care and can survive a day or two without home visits.

“We don’t want to put our volunteers at unnecessary risk, which is why requests for transportation are viewed on a case-by-case basis,” Barton said.

Home health care providers advise urgent-care clients and their families to have contingency plans in place for days when the providers can’t get to those clients’ homes, said Area Agency on Aging Director Patty Fretz.

“Clients should arrange ahead of time to have family members, friends or neighbors take care of them on those days,” Fretz said.

With another significant storm predicted to hit the area by this weekend, NESAR likely will again have volunteers on standby to give rides if needed, said member Duane Kerzic.